Goodbye Odda

 Jo called yesterday morning to tell us that Odda was very sick and if we wanted to say goodbye we should come over.  Of course we had to say goodbye to one our favorite dogs. 

Odda was supposed to be called Bella but no one could stop calling her Odda. (Odda 1 died when she was 16 weeks old of a heart problem.)

Odda May 14 2009

 Hooch, Chance and Odda May 2009

 She liked chewing on my crocs and me!  Eventually we came to an understanding.   She liked me and listened to me without hesitation. 

Then good boy Hooch died.. a tick disease took him within hours in May of 2011.

 

Putz joined the pack in 2012....he was so little! 

Something happened around 2012 ( probably Putz)...Odda began to visit us on a regular basis...we thought it was just to see Chance but it continued after he died.  She would cross the road at her house go into the woods and come down the trails to our house. 

Odda and Chance were good friends. 

Odda was a good friend to us after Chance died.  She came to visit more often...we would sit outside with her until Jo came to get her...sometimes we would take her home.  Sometimes when we were gone to town she would be waiting for us when we got home.  We were her safe place. 

Bernese Mountain dogs are loyal, gentle dogs.  She loved to sit on my foot and get a good scratch.

There was no sitting yesterday...but she did lift her head up for a while...we got to pet her and say our goodbyes.  Goodbye Odda come to visit. 

We will miss our visits.  Our neighbor Jo will miss her girl Odda so very much.  It isn't easy to lose our four legged friends.

 Odda is survived by her little brother Putz or Putzer...who is almost blind...but his hearing and sense of smell is pretty good as he took the crumbs of a treat out of my hand.  He will miss Odda too...as she was the Alpha dog...poor Putz.

Far Side

Last Day of August

I already hate that it gets dark so early at night...I just hate losing that sunlight.

Had a busy day yesterday...I was the assistant lawn mower maniac/mechanic. We got er done and it runs and mows just like it did  before I broke it!   So I mowed for awhile!

I cleaned up my garage.  It was a nice day for that about 68 F for a high...Fall weather has arrived.

For fun I rewrote that sock pattern ...it is perfect now.  Maybe.

I sprayed some weeds in the rocks around the house.

Odda came to visit for part of the day....she is more than happy to sleep out on the patio.  We make sure she has water.  We both sat outside with her at different times throughout the day.  She loves attention and seeks out your hand to pet her.

 After Odda left I put that Wet and Forget on part of the patio...I like how it took care of the moss and cleaned up the brick in my test section.  The jury is still out on the cedar deck out back...it might need a wire brush.

Far Guy got called for Jury Duty...his third time...  He filed for an exemption since we may get called for the lung transplant at any time.

Flowers in town

Far Side

Log Repair Project

Many years ago...like about 20 years when we built this house we used Jack Pine logs to make a covered entry.  We did it up real good.  We sunk rebar into a bucket of cement and buried them for footings...the rebar stuck up about 6 inches and the logs were set on top of the rebar...it was quite a project.  We were younger then.

The logs aged...and this spring we noticed the bottom part of the logs were starting to  become rotten. Some bird most likely a woodpecker had quite a time with one of the logs.

We were not quite sure how we were going to fix it.  Between Andy, Jen and Far Guy they came up with a solution.

Before:

Chance and Odda in 2015 

After:

New brick platforms for the logs to set on.  The logs were cut off and the rebar cut off and ground off to make a level surface.  This fix should last another 20 years!  It was sprinkling when I took the photos.

Miss Miney and Little Elvis July 5 2019

Many Thanks to Andy and Jen for taking time out of their vacation week to help us with this project!  We could not have done it without them.  Thanks also to my other baby brother who had a whole pile of bricks from a construction demo in his equipment yard...I had my choice of colors of bricks...I chose the grey. 

Miss Miney and Little Elvis have returned to their own home...we will miss them.  The house seems quiet without them. 

Odda still comes to visit...she was visiting yesterday...we are her safe place.

Far Side

Part Time Dog

We have a part time dog, we are her safe place.  She gets nervous when there is shooting in the area…hunting season is open for Partridge/Grouse, Rabbits, Squirrels, Fox, Turkey etc… when we are walking we usually hear some kind of shooting especially on the weekends. 

So Odda gets scared/or gets a wild hair and she comes to visit…she knows the routine…she comes to the window to announce her arrival by wagging her big old fluffy tail on the window.  We call her Mom and then go out and get some “Odda time.”  She is always happy when her Mom comes to get her.

Odda is a Berner..a Bernese Mountain Dog.  They don’t live a long life only 6-8 years so Odda is living on borrowed time…she is nine years old.

She and Chance were good pals…we cannot tell if she looks for him or not.  She is always  happy to see us.  If we are not home she waits for us. We have known her since she was a pup.  Sometimes I think she just misses us and comes for a visit.

Golden Birds and a Flat Squirrel

Whilst we were fixing supper Far Guy said “Goldfinches just arrived on the feeders.”  After supper Chance and I went out to sit a spell.

The Goldfinches are sporting their summer finery.

As you can see this one still has some winter feathers.

Chance meanderd around the yard doing his usual stuff…then came to lay down by me and survey the yard…he looks to the right and to the left over and over again.

I am busy with the birds…watching them flit around…then I notice a squirrel that came bounding into the yard and as soon as it saw Chance it flattened just like a pancake.

I wondered who would see who first. The squirrel tried to exit the yard and I told Chance to get him…and Chance chased him off…makes an old dog feel good…the squirrel was in no danger.

We spread some grass seed and a bit of garden soil on some bare spots in the lawn and then sat outside until Jo showed up looking for Odda…we sat and visited for awhile and sure enough Odda came to visit. It was a lovely day in Minnesota on Monday it was 80 something F  26C eh!  We went straight from Winter to Summer.  It is supposed to cool off and rain…so maybe our grass seeds will grow fast!

Trail Cam : Visitors

We finally had the chance to get in the trail cam and download the photos.

We had some weird tracks in the yard one day…never found out what it was.

I did notice some larger than Chance tracks and some turkey tracks.

Odda came to visit one day while Far Guy was in the hospital.

The turkeys must have thought it was easy pickins when Chance was away.

We had a busy week.  Three health care appointments, some house cleaning and shopping for groceries was accomplished.  We are staying to ourselves for a few more weeks.  Far Guy walked outside yesterday for the first time in almost a month.

I am feeling much better, I am still a little tired but my cough is completely gone…knock on wood.  It took just about a month to get rid of it…I first got sick January 18…so figure a month. That was one long lasting siege.  Far Guy still has nine days to go before his month is up.  I hope his cough is completely gone by then.

Odda and Bluebird Houses

We took Odda back home today and saw two Bluebirds on the way home.

Odda comes to visit when Jo is gone, sometimes I think Jo leaves and two minutes later Odda does too.  Odda is happy to see us and knows that we will call Jo and then Jo will come get her.  Yesterday we took her home, put her on her deck and scolded her…not that it did any good. ( She didn’t even put her ears down.)

Anyways we decided to clean out all the Bluebird Houses after supper.   They are all ready to be occupied.  (One had two nests and one dead Bluebird, one had a mouse nest.)  We have nine houses in different spots.  One house had a bird in it…not sure what kind of bird it was…because it flew out as we approached.

Chance was the fearless leader as we went from house to house.

Chance: Making new friends

I have a new friend.  His name is Putzer and he lives just down the road.   He is Odda’s new brother. 

He is just a little bit of a dog.

I was patient with him, however I did growl when he bit my tail.

I told you he is just a little bit of a dog.

Odda is having a hard time.  Far Side says Odda’s nose is outta joint but her nose looked fine to me.  One day this week Far Guy thought there was a bear in our yard, turned out it was just Odda running away from home.  We brought her inside and we called her Mom.  Odda was in big trouble. We were just happy that we were home and could be a safe place for her to run away to.

One time when I was little and got confused and ran across the road into the field, Jo and Leah stopped and picked me up.  They saved me then…so it is only right that we watch out for each other when we can.

The little bit of a dog named “Putzer”  is an Australian Shepherd.  Odda is a Bernese Mountain Dog and me..well I am a Border Collie that blogs:)

Dog Sitting

This weekend, we are dog sitting for Hooch and Odda. They are a pair. I had to have a talk with Hooch on Friday. When I went up to let everyone out of their kennels..he went to one of the sheds and would not come out. Little bugger anyway..so we had a talk..I explained that if he came out..he could go home with me. He is a little mad that he was left behind..I brought some of his own food over here to feed him..he gave me a look that said "You have lost your freaking mind." Far Guy mixed some of Chance's food in with it..and he chowed it all down. At night Hooch goes back to his own house to his own bed..he kennels up nicely. This morning..he ran between me and the car..as if to say..I am ready lets go..forget about my sister already.

Now for Hooch's sister..the beautiful Miss Odda. She has an outdoor kennel..she begins to jump as soon as I turn in the yard..just like a doggy jack in the box. She knows she is not to jump on people..and she tries real hard not to. If I holler "Odda sit" she does..right on my feet..to get a good head scratch. She is not yet a year old. She irritates Chance..and Hooch..she submits to both of them..but she goes right back to her antics.

Chance just hates it when she tries to scoot underneath him..or puts a paw on his back. The whole group sounds wild and crazy the first few minutes that they are all together, with the boys snarling and snapping at Miss Odda ..after that they all calm down.


Hooch is real good at our house, he naps on the couch..he helps himself to food and water. Chance is a good host and shares his toys and his balls..letting Hooch catch half of the balls thrown.

Last night when I took Hooch home..I heard a Coyote howling and the Canadian Geese honking up in the corn fields. Hooch went in the pasture..the heifers gave him the what for and chased him back out again. Since they live on the prairie, and we live in the woods..going to their place is always an adventure:)